Graham County, Arizona
| Graham County, Arizona | |
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Graham County Courthouse in Safford
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 Location in the U.S. state of Arizona |
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 Arizona's location in the U.S. |
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| Founded | March 10, 1881 |
| Seat | Safford |
| Largest city | Safford |
| Area | |
| • Total | 4,641 sq mi (12,020 km2) |
| • Land | 4,623 sq mi (11,974 km2) |
| • Water | 19 sq mi (49 km2), 0.4% |
| Population (est.) | |
| • (2015) | 37,666 |
| • Density | 8.2/sq mi (3/km²) |
| Congressional district | 1st |
| Time zone | Mountain: UTC-7 |
| Website | www |
Graham County is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2010 census, the population was 37,220, making it the third-least populous county in Arizona. The county seat is Safford.
Graham County composes the Safford, AZ Micropolitan Statistical Area.
The county is home to several organizations including Eastern Arizona College and the Mount Graham International Observatory, which includes one of the world's largest and most powerful telescopes. Graham County is also home to the Arizona Salsa Trail and the annual Salsa Fest.
Graham County contains part of the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation.
Joseph Knight Rogers, an early settler in the area, and a member of the Arizona Territorial Legislature, is known as the father of Graham County. He introduced the bill in the territorial legislature creating Graham County. Graham County was created from southern Apache County and eastern Pima County on March 10, 1881. Initially, the county seat was located in the city of Safford but was later moved to Solomonville in 1883. This change was undone in 1915, returning the county seat to Safford.
Graham County is named after the mountain by the same name and was the first Arizonan county to break the tradition of naming counties for Native Americans.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 4,641 square miles (12,020 km2), of which 4,623 square miles (11,970 km2) is land and 19 square miles (49 km2) (0.4%) is water. The county has various mountain ranges including Mount Graham, which is the highest mountain in the Pinaleno Mountains.
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